Song and Story in Biblical Narrative: The History of a Literary Convention in Ancient Israel (review)

Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 274 Reviews SONG AND STORY IN BIBLICAL NARRATIVE: THE HISTORY OF A LITERARY CONVENTION IN ANCIENT ISRAEL. By Steven Weitzman. Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature. pp. xiv + 209. Bloomington. IN: Indiana University Press, 1997. Cloth, $29.95. While the nature of the relationship between prose and poetry within biblical narrative has long engaged commentators. there have been few thoroughgoing attempts to understand the phenomenon as a whole. Steven Weitzman has written a thoughtful and creative study of the problem, which has led him to a number of interesting observations on the forces which helped to shape this particular literary phenomenon. Weitzman's study bears some resemblance to that of J. W. Watts, Psalm and Story (Sheffield, 1992), but Weitzman is less interested in the question of what the intent of the poems' authors may have been. The defming issue is rather "...how the authors of the biblical narrative reinterpreted the songs' form and content to serve their own literary purposes" (p. 6). These purposes are not static. as the rationale behind the insertion of songs changed over time. The first part of the book discusses "theologizing adaptations" in Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 31-32. while the second part discusses the effect of the development of the idea of canon upon the shape of the canon itself. In his discussions of Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32 Weitzman searches for parallels in Ancient Near Eastern literature, but he is discerning in his choice of comparative material. and aware of the pitfalls and limitations of such an approach. He finds an appropriate model for the inclusion of the Song of the Sea in the Egyptian Piye Stele. which is similar to Exodus in its structure: two songs (Exad 15:1-18; 15:21) ascribed to figures in the narrative . following a battle account of prose historiography. In both texts the integration of the poetry presents to the reader"...a model of how it should interpret the battle and assign credit for its victorious outcome" (p. 25). In Egypt all proclaim Piye as their eternal ruler. just as Israel's perception of the events at the sea is crucial to their faith in God. Weitzman's analysis is equally sensitive to differences as well-the songs in Piye come to acclaim the rulership of an outsider (Piye is Nubian) over Egypt. while the Song of the Sea asserts YHWH's control over Egypt. This understanding of narrative strategy is helpful for understanding the relationship between Judges 4 and 5 as well. While the Song of Deborah is more explicit in its celebration of human courage. it nonetheless defmes such heroism as "...loyal suppon for God in his battle" (p. 33). Weitzman argues that having both Deborah and Barak sing the song in Judges 5 cre- Hebrew Studies 40 (1999) 275 Reviews ates a situation similar to Exodus 14-15. Like the Israelites at the sea in Exod 14:8-9, Barak is first skeptical in 4:8, but he ultimately comes to see God as the victor in Judges 5, suggesting an essential similarity in the joining of poetry and prose in these two instances. Weitzman's treatment of Deuteronomy 31-32 situates the text within the literary tapas of "last words" known throughout the ancient world, in which a sage presents words of teaching or wisdom before dying. While the general framework is instructive, the suggested parallel to the Words of Ahiqar is less convincing. The two texts do share certain points in common-the appointment of a successor, the speaker's betrayal by his ward, the use of both oral and written testimony-but the parallel seems forced, and the relationship of the poem to the Deuteronomic History may provide a more satisfying narrative strategy (cf. Watts, Psalm and Story, pp. 79-81). But even here Weitzman brings out nicely the unique aspects of the "theologizing adaptation" of Deuteronomy which "...transform the story of a dying sage betrayed by his adopted son into a cautionary tale in which a dying sage foretells God's betrayal by God's adopted children, the people of Israel" (p. 51). The second half of the book presents an argument which embraces more...